


Brother, or Lover?

by EmthelRackem



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Family Feels, Ghosts, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:42:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26509948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmthelRackem/pseuds/EmthelRackem
Summary: Some stranger comes in claiming to be Allison's brother, yet he's just so weird. Ray is going to get to the bottom of this.Or, Ray gets irrationally jealous and the truth is much more stressful.
Relationships: Raymond Chestnut/Allison Hargreeves
Comments: 7
Kudos: 363
Collections: Numerous OTPS Infinite Fandoms, Semi-Functional Adults





	Brother, or Lover?

**Author's Note:**

> I just want them to be happy y'all. Let them be happy. I sort of adore any Ray and Klaus interactions, and they very easily could have accidentally met before the whole apocalypse, so I let them.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and have a great day!

Raymond was still hoping to get with Allison, planned gifts, flower, the whole nine years. She still found it hard to speak sometimes, but Raymond didn’t mind. It wasn’t her voice which was important, it was her words. Whatever she said, however, she said it, he would listen.

Then there were the meetings, Raymond found Allison headstrong, but ultimately most of her decisions were well thought out. Any comment she made had weight behind it, reasoning, even if she refused to explain it. In some cases, she would mention something that hadn’t happened yet. Never anything big, just mentioning a movie that hadn’t been released. Then there were the subtle ways she broke all the rules. She had no fear of walking around, no hesitation in standing behind a white man. For a second, she seemed almost comfortable, until she realised where she was and who she was, and what she couldn’t do.

So, Raymond’s big proposal to her still wasn’t fully fleshed out yet, but they were in love. And that’s that.

Then comes a knock on the salon door. It’s dark out, past closing time, they’ve set up a meeting. Everyone who should be there is there, no one had invited anyone. It was probably one of the white folk, someone who took issue with them. Nevermind, Raymond could deal with this as he dealt with all of them. He opens the door carefully, noting how the soft muttering stops as the door creaks open.

“Hi!” The man says, waving a tattooed hand frantically. He is white, dark hair hanging around his face, big green eyes, but not at all concerned to be seen talking to him, “This is a haircut place, right?”

“We’re closed,” Raymond says gently, indicating to the sign hanging in the window. The man stops, turns to look at the sign and swears.

“Ah! Fuck. Forgot you don’t have like 24/7 yet,” he mutters, “but look!” He brightens, flinging both hands forward to indicate Raymond, “you’re here! Let me just book an appointment, and I’ll come back later!” There’s a second of stillness as Ray processes this, and then the man flinches ever so slightly, away from nothing.

“You can ring and make an appointment later,” one of the ladies inside calls out. 

“Yeah,” the man agrees, “yes! You are absolutely right. Correct. I could,” there’s a pause like he’s mulling over something. Then abruptly he turns his head to the side and addresses empty air. “You’ll remind me right?” 

“Good night,” Ray tries, closing the door. There’s a beat of silence before the man is knocking on the door again. He can see the other members get tense, but Allison is the one who makes the move. She stands, stalks over to the door and rips it open.

“I don’t know your-,” the man gets out before he falls silent.

“Klaus?” Allison croaks, prompting most inside to turn to the door.

“Allison!” The man cheers, dragging her into a hug. Ray makes an aborted step forward as he sees tears. The two are clutching each other so tightly as if afraid the other will disappear. 

“Look at you!” Allison murmurs, pressing her face against his shoulder.

“Look at you!” Klaus counters, separating them so he can look her up and down, “down with the fashion I see.”

Ray coughs into his fist as subtly as an elephant, prompting Allison to turn to him with a smile on her face. He almost feels bad for breaking the moment.

“This is my brother, Klaus,” Allison introduces, “And Klaus, this is my boyfriend, Ray.”

“Brother?” Ray questions, noting the significant differences between the two people.

“Adopted,” Klaus adds helpfully, “Dear old Dad decided to buy seven of us, even though he really shouldn’t have.”

That clears up very little, “seven?” Ray asks.

“Yeah, we got separated,” Allison mutters, “I didn’t know if I would see any of them again.” There’s a faraway look in her eyes, and then she turns to Klaus, “is Ben?”

“Oh yeah!” Klaus returns, “I’ve been working on it. Let me, uh,”

“Not here,” Allison rushes, holding Klaus’ hands down.

“They don’t-?”

“No.”

“Okay.” Klaus nods to himself, then seems to note the awkward silence they’ve fallen into. He takes a second to look around the space and then grins. “Look at you! More superhero work.”

“Well,” Ray begins, worried even though Allison trusts him, “we do important work, even if some people don’t agree with us.”

“Oh don’t worry about it,” Klaus grins, “you guys are awesome. Listen, if you guys run into any trouble let me know.”

“And what will you do about it? Turn yourself in for the bigger bounty?” Allison questions, crossing her arms in that way Ray has a soft spot for.

“No, I’m a law-abiding citizen now!” Klaus hums, “I just got some friends in, ya know, high places!” He laughs as if it’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard. Allison simply rolls her eyes. After some more idle chatter, and the passing off of a phone number, the siblings hug once more before going their separate ways. Ray watches Allison for the rest of the meeting. She’s shaken, just enough to disturb her foundations even as she’s building them back up again. Ray goes over to sit by her, hold her hand. They spend the rest of the meeting together.

——

Klaus comes in for his appointment, being lead in by a regular patron named Jill, who had come in every now and again. They have matching tattoos, the salon workers realise, across their hands. After the haircutting, in which Klaus and had been a perfect client, sitting still but indulging in the gossip, he sets himself up with Allison and the two just talk. By the time Ray swings by Klaus has placed his head in Allison’s lap, letting her run her fingers through he recently washed hair. 

Jill waves as Ray enters, her Hello hand flashing briefly. Ray stops, shocked by the tattoo that cannot be a coincidence. Jill seems to notice him staring at her hand and smiles, showing both her hands.

“It’s a sign of the prophet,” Jill explains, holding her hands together at her head in a triangle like shape, “to show we follow his lifestyle.”

“Is Klaus part of this, uh, lifestyle?” Ray asks, wondering what exactly he’s gotten himself into.

“The prophet created the lifestyle,” Jill corrects, “he teaches us his ways.”

“Oh,” Ray mumbles, eyes turning to watch Klaus. Allison picks up on it, waving him over to their little gathering. Ray feels a hot flash of jealousy for a second, watching Klaus lazily turn his head on Allison’s lap, not even getting up even though he’s being very inappropriate.

“Hey,” Allison greets, pecking Ray on his cheek.

“Hello you,” Ray returns, before nodding at Klaus, “Afternoon.”

“G’day!” Klaus greets, “hope Jane didn’t weird you out,” he pauses, “Jill, I mean.”

“She called you a prophet,” Ray mentions, watching for Allison’s expression. She seems exasperated, whacking the back of his head.

“Seriously? A cult Klaus?” She scoffs, “honestly, get out of one mess, put yourself in another.”

“It’s better than drugs, we do fun stuff. Like yoga! And prayer circles, and singing! And harmonising!” Klaus grins, “and it doesn’t matter who you are, whether you're black, white, beige, chola descent.” Klaus grins, throwing a saucy wink at Allison who only whacks him harder.

“I see your gathering is very accepting,” Ray offers, covering up Klaus’ muffled ‘ow’.

“I’d be a bit of a hypocrite if I wasn’t,” Klaus says, snuggling into Allison’s side for a second before popping back up.

“You’re the definition of hypocrite,” Allison scolds lightly, brushing down her dress, “but I’m glad you found a place for yourself.”

“Aw shucks,” Klaus says, actually blushing, “what a sweetie.”

“Now, out you go, I do have a job to do,” Allison further scolds, though with a playful edge, “unlike you.”

Klaus gasps as he grips his chest, “I do so have a job. Being a prophet is very difficult you know.”

“Sure,” Allison says, crossing her arms, “maybe you can direct a few of your followers our way for haircuts, hmm?”

“It depends on what’s in the stars!” Klaus teases back, but he puts himself together regardless and strides out the door, Jill on his heels, both of them with their hair done to perfection. Ray watches them go, then is pulled out of his thoughts by Allison yanking him down to sit beside her.

——

It’s time to bite the bullet, so to say, and stand up to Klaus. Even though he was introduced as a brother, Ray doesn’t trust it. Who would adopt children of such differing backgrounds, anyone with common sense would understand the ways that wouldn’t work. And they don’t act like siblings, Klaus seems to have negative boundaries, instead always cuddling up to Allison, and Allison doesn’t mind. He could chalk it up to his outgoing and quite honestly, frantic, personality, but Klaus never initiates casual contact with anyone else in the salon, even flinches away from some of the men that come in to say hi to their wives.

So, Ray marches up to Klaus’ mansion, past his followers, and knocks on the door. A follower answers, smiling at him as they lead him through the house to a backyard, and to a little garden patch.

“So just,” Klaus is explaining, “love yourself! Who cares about what anyone else says, you do you!” He flings an arm out wide and seems to catch sight of Ray standing there awkwardly. He grins, finishing his speech with a glorious; “go forth Destiny’s Children!” And watches them all scatter.

Ray comes a bit closer, Klaus hopping to his feet and exposing the full front of his chest to meet him halfway. Ray goes for a handshake, which Klaus returns with an amused grin.

“What brings you to my humble abode?” Klaus asks, almost hopping on his feet.

“Um,” Ray says, not quite sure how to start this confrontation, “I’m going on a date with Allison later-“

Klaus gasps dramatically, cutting him off, “you need advice right? She loves flowers, like roses and shit. And fancy dresses, but if you can’t that’s fine. She really only cares about who she’s with.”

“Oh,” Ray mutters, completely thrown off.

“And you’ll have to dress nice. Fancy, and take her somewhere super fancy.”

“Actually-“

“Oh, who am I kidding, you already know this stuff! You’re already dating. So what, you need the house?” Klaus finally stops, and Ray waits an extra beat just to make sure he’s done.

“I actually wanted to know what you thought about it?” Ray asks, trying to go around the topic of exes while also hitting it directly.

“The brotherly stamp of approval, eh?” Klaus nudges him, “well, I’m technically the second oldest brother, and I'd give you a ten out of ten. You’re doing great! Don’t attempt to run it through the actual oldest, he will stab you.”

“Okay,” Ray nods, trying to keep up.

“But you really shouldn’t have to worry about that stuff, Allison doesn’t care, I don’t care. I didn’t run the love of my life through the family.”

“The love of your life?” Ray asks gently, hoping to trip him up into admitting he’s got a crush on Allison.

“His name is Dave,” Klaus admits, “he’s the most gorgeous man you’ve ever met. Breathtaking.”

Ray stops, so that’s what’s going on. Klaus is into men, and not Allison. Well, that’s one worry gone, and a bunch of weirdness explained. He honestly should have known, with the way he dresses, and speaks, and wears his hair. It’s so obvious, how didn’t he see it? 

The rest of the conversation is Ray quietly re-evaluating his every interaction while Klaus prattles on dreamily about the love of his life, skirting around topics in such an obvious way that Ray would pick up on it if he wasn’t so otherwise occupied. By the time Klaus gently shoos Ray on his way with some words of encouragement, Ray has pretty much gone into reevaluating his whole life.

——

Ray comes home and is immediately shocked to find a set of shoes near the door. It’s not his, and it’s not Allison’s. He thinks he recognises them as Klaus’ but he’s not sure. He doesn’t want to risk it, so he grabs a poker from the fire. He can’t call the cops, they won’t care, but he can protect his fiancé if someone has decided to break in.

He sneaks through the rooms before a squeal from upstairs has him rushing to the master bedroom and fearing the worst. He takes a second before slamming the door open.

The first thing he sees is Klaus, setting on the edge of the bed in one of Allison’s dresses, the material pulled higher on his things than strictly necessary. He would comment on it, except there is another person in the room, one that’s glowing blue. A man, standing up to talk with Allison though neither seems uncomfortable with each other. Everyone freezes and turns to him, and silence descends across the room.

“Nice weather, right?” Klaus eventually pipes up, “it’s good. We should go have a picnic sometime.” He’s conveniently ignoring the GLOWING MAN still standing in Ray’s room. Ray doesn’t, and he finds himself locking eyes with the stranger.

“Ray,” Allison says, ignoring Klaus, “this is my brother Ben. Ben, this is my fiancé Ray.”

“Hi,” Ben offers, reaching out a hand, “I was actually around for the announcement.”

“He’s a ghost,” Klaus helpfully adds. Ben stops mid handshake, just watching for Ray’s reaction.

“Huh,” Ray says, already numb to everything. Oh wait- no that’s feeling faint. Ray has fainted.

He awakens to see Allison hovering over him, a soft smile on her face. She’s running a thumb across his forehead, just soothing him.

“Good morning,” Allison teases, “I’m sorry for my brother.”

“It’s okay,” Ray assures, “I guess I just wasn’t up to finding a ghost. In my bedroom.”

“Your house is pretty quiet,” he can hear Klaus pipe up, but he’s quickly shushed by Ben, he’s assuming.

“I shouldn’t have dumped it all on you,” Allison admits softly, “I probably should have talked to you about it. Before this. Been open and honest.”

Ray sits up and grips her hand, “I’m not leaving you, even if you’re all Russian super soldiers or something. You’re Allison, and we’re getting married, and I love you.”

“We’re not Russian super soldiers,” Allison assures, “American raised even if we weren’t born here. Our father did adopt all seven of us, but because we had superpowers.” So the explanation continues, a soft retelling of their childhood. The story of apocalypses, and time travel, and training for a father that rarely cared. Allison makes Klaus slap himself in the face, which is entertaining, and Klaus carefully explains the ghosts he’s seen. He gets a rundown of their siblings too, and the fact that they may not see them, but if Ray does can he please let them know they’re looking for them?

“I’m sorry,” Allison murmurs, “I didn’t really think it was important, and then I didn’t want to freak you out.”

“It’s fine,” Ray assures, curling an arm around Allison’s shoulder, “it’s fine.”

Klaus shuffles over until he’s sitting next to Allison with his body pressed against hers, and Ray extends his arm just a tad. Ben joins in too, corporeal and almost touch starved. They fall asleep on the couch together, Ray getting to see a sight he does overnight with Allison in his arms, but also the gentle way Klaus drifts off despite his previous manic energy and the way Ben slowly fades from sight. Ray smiles at the group and feels his heart warm for them. He falls asleep not long after, and when he wakes Klaus and Allison are busy burning eggs in the kitchen.


End file.
